Okay so just to clear up some stuff that I went back and read and realized some discrepancies~ Raven knows that Star's name is "KORI" but she only knows that from when she reached into her mind all those chapters ago, she doesn't know her whole name or anything. Starfire is from the COUNTRY Tamaran and a village named Drenthax, where her father was chief and yes mostly everyone was murdered during the raid by the nearby tribe. OKAY! I'm really sorry! Apparently I have a terrible memory and no consistency! Please enjoy chapter 11 and feel free to PM me about questions, comments, whatever! Thank you very much :D
Disclaimer: I don't own DC or Teen Titans :S
Star cleared her throat, "So do you think they'd know us if we used Robin and Starfire for names?"
Robin scoffed, his hair was now blue and he was wearing a ridiculous kaleidoscope of clothes. He had baggy trousers, a bulletproof vest. "Ya I do... A name like Starfire isn't very common...how bout Mary?"
"What a pretty name!" She smiled as they walked, "I fear it is too different from my own though, I will not remember fast enough to keep up if we are in trouble. Perhaps... Sarah?"
Robin nodded and pulled at his suspenders, "Ok you're Sarah then and I'm..."
"Oh oh!" Star jumped up and down, "You must be Robert!" A name she had learnt from her years in the orphanage.
Robin cringed, "Robert?"
"It is much like Robin, yes?"
"That's true, I guess your right," he smirked; glad she didn't pick the name Richard.
They nodded and continued their march. The two halted once they stepped onto Gotham's Pioneer Bridge, which could be crossed to Arkham. Both taking deeper breathes then usual they crossed with determination in theirs eyes. No going back, they were about to enter the ruined city. In the distance Robin could see the bright circus colours smeared across broken buildings and charred houses. The echo of sickening cries and psychotic laughter filled the empty space as the distance to the city lessen.
The gate into the city passed over their heads, now there really was no going back.
Star took a side-glance at Robin under her fake eyelashes. He had no fear and neither did she. Star felt a strong sense of relief that she hadn't come alone.
After casually strolling around a couple streets down from Main Street, Robin whispered to Starfire, "Okay, we're good."
"Remember the plan?" She mumbled back and plopped onto a charred sofa, acting as if she was testing to see if it was comfortable. She scoffed and kicked it lightly, then they continued walking.
"Course, you've got 15 minutes to find you place. I'll radio you once I find mine."
Luckily, both their hair had been long enough to cover their ears as to hide the tiny buds Star had provided for communication.
Star wandered off in one direction and Robin in the other, whispering faint good lucks to one another.
Raven was perched, scouting, on top of the WAYNE ENTERPRISE building in Jump City. She had been searching for a sign of Cyborg since she got to Jump, but had no luck, other then the Orbit club fellow, Beast. He managed to say Cyborg was busy, once they got talking business that is. But if Cyborg were out of town, Raven believed, Beast would've said something. To her extreme distaste, Beast actually had a few hilarious jokes, which she almost choked on her drinks, attempting not to laugh at.
Either way, she didn't need more people in her way, her job was to observe and that's what she was trying to do. Suddenly out of the corner of her eye, Raven saw a flicker of red light to the East. She crossed her legs and whispered her mantra, soon enough she projected her magic and x-rayed the buildings east of her central location. Just as her powers stretched as far as they could she caught the identity she had been searching for.
To her complete surprise, Cyborg was truly a cyborg, most of his body was mechanical and the organs were being kept safe and preserved away from his harsh metallic parts. Even with her new discovery some strange aura was flowing through him, something unbalancing this normal state. She could feel copious amounts of internal conflict, anger and other uneasy feelings.
As he walked, Raven felt him getting further from her stretch of powers. She leapt down and ported to the building he had walked out of to investigate.
The minutes dashed by and time was running down. She didn't know if Robin was in luck but if he proved to have the same luck as her, they were screwed. She had been wandering up and down different streets fro the last 8 minutes and had a close encounter with a not so pleasant looking girl with pigtails and a bitter grin. Star had leapt into a broken fire exit stairwell to avoid her. Good thing she did though because only moments later, a crowd of rowdy circus "freaks" marched by.
With renewed vigour Star ran down a couple streets and finally found the one she had been looking for, 113ST, The Red Street, as it was known. She dashed along the house line, her eyes flitting between the columns in search of the right house. "11345" , she whispered, "11347...11349!" She cambered out of sights into the decay that stood in place of the once famous, Black Mansion.
"Robi-Robert!" She breathed into her COM.
"I'm here. Did you find what you were looking for?" Robin's breath seemed hoarse and prickly, as if he too had been running.
"Not yet but I found the right building." Star said making her way to the back of the broken and burnt building. It had obviously been raided when the city was invaded. "I'm at 11349, Burrow Park, I'll meet with you shortly. "
"The Black mansion? How long is shortly Star-ah?"
Star stood still for a moment in brief confusion, "Starah?"
"Sarah! I meant Sarah! " Robin flushed to himself, "How long?"
"Please give me 15 minutes. I do not know how difficult these objects will be to locate."
"And I still can't know what they are?"
"Just know that I must find them, they are of great importance to me." She whispered as she tiptoed along the burnt halls.
He sighed, "Okay well hurry up! Robert out."
She nodded to herself and pulled out a small slip of paper from her pouch. Star unrolled it and examined the markings carefully. She had crumpled the blueprints slightly but they were still readable. Raven had told her much about her old home and life. One of her favourite and most precious books had been left behind during her flee to Gotham. There were many things Raven had not been able to bring with her, and had fair reasoning not to try and get them now. However Star had her chance; it was right now and she was ready to make the most of it.
She followed her written directions up the stairs, quietly and carefully to avoid any unwelcome guests or broken bits of the walls and roof.
The banister was burnt down to ash but the stairs themselves were well in tact. Star took a left and followed a hallway down to the fifth door on the right. This room was the library/study. The bookcases had crashed into one another and paper was scattered everywhere. Fine pieces of literature were stripped page-by-page and burnt along the broken mahogany desk. Star skidded to the desk and began opening each drawer. Raven had told her that she was the only one who really used the library, the desk had been hers completely and she would put everything there. Star knew that one of these drawers had to have her precious book and perhaps other items of importance.
One particular drawer was bolted shut, locked with no key. Star felt a tug of intuition kick in and placed her open palm over the bolt. Within seconds the metal began to melt down and slid own the side of the precious wood. Star yanked the drawer out of the desk and look inside. It was much bigger then the exterior showed and inside no damage had come to its contents. There were two books and a small notepad, as well a locked ivory box. The box had beautiful swirls and patterns of animals and skulls on it. Star took each item carefully and placed them in her satchel. Just as she was going to stand, Star noticed the bottom of the drawer almost pealing. She kneeled back down and pulled back the bottom. It came clear off to reveal a purple book with 'Raven' scrawled prettily along the bottom. This was definitely the precious book Raven had spoken of. It had to be. Next to the book was a skeleton key. Star felt it in her hand for a moment but shrugged her shoulders not really knowing what it was for. She popped the book and key into her bag and stuffed the drawer back into the desk. The bag was big enough so far and that was what mattered. Being thought as a thief would be a better outcome then most in this forsaken place. Star then pulled the blueprints out again and followed them to the main hall.
She traced the map with her finger then followed along on foot towards what should be Raven's old bedroom. Star stepped through the broken door and gasped. The roof had been almost completely burnt through, leaving a hole to the left of the ceiling. The canopy bed was bare yet had remnants of feathers and torn rich fabrics which once lay there. Star flitted around the room, hovering as to avoid the dangers on the floor. Finding nothing of value Star whipped around to leave through the door on the other side of the room, but as she turned the slight breeze she created pushed the feathers and cloth aside to reveal something worth finding. The stuffed rabbit lay forgotten under the chaos, but caught her eye. Star kneeled, lovingly wrapping it in a piece of fabric before placing it inside her bag and jogging out of the condemned mansion.
"Robert, I'm on my way, Sarah out." She whispered, climbing amongst the rubble once more. A violent roar came though her earpiece, followed quickly by a sharp, "Sar-ah."
Star stopped in her place and clutched her ear. "Time-"******-" to go." Robin hissed, his COM, seeming to pick up static. "Meet you-"*******-"at the bridge." **** "R-" ****-"t out."
An instant dread washed over her. Robin had sounded more then urgent, he sounded scared. As her mind started to play out the most obvious and terrifying scenarios she doubled back and found the main street again, re-orientating herself. Once on a safe path Star picked up her pace and kept her eyes wide for enemies.
"Sarah!" A choked whispered called to her. Star located the caller and casually strolled over to his hiding place. Crouching down next to him, Star was able to see a slight trickle of red pour from his mouth.
"What happened?" She breathed wiping the blood away with her sleeve.
He winced ever so slightly, " While you were doing your thing I was able to find the main hub, and I mean it is the headquarters of all headquarters." He took a deep breath, resting his head against the wall, " They have first class technology in there, really top grade shit. I only know two other people in the entire world who have equipment like that. But I got this-"
He took a quick look out the doorway beside him and around the room before opening his palm to reveal a small memory card and stick.
"Downloaded everything I could. Surveillance, statistics, programs, I don't even know what's actually on here. I just found their mainframe and put as much as I could before someone noticed me. Oh ya, by the way someone did notice me."
He moved forward and pointed to his bloody mouth. "But he wasn't very bright so I just ended up clubbing him over the head, it was the guards outside the door waiting for him that took effort." He leaned back again, "Anyway by the time I could reply to you those dudes had called for reinforcements."
Star's eyes went wide and she went to stand, "We must hurry-" "Wait!" Robin interrupted pulling her back down next to him. "They have no idea what I look like, I was either wearing this stupid hat I found or hiding behind bulky clown people. The people who did see me will be unconscious for quite a while. That being said I really do think we should go."
With that Robin stood carefully, Starfire nodding and following his movements. "I say we separate, in case they do recognize me, that way you can still get out of here and I'll be able to slip away easier by myself. Take these." He dropped the memory devices in Star's hands; quickly she slipped them in between the pages of one of the books.
"Are you sure Robin?" She said as she exited the broken building they had been hiding in. "Absolutely, I'll see you soon, don't worry." He whispered.
"Wait- wait! Where do we meet?" She hissed behind her, as Robin was still hidden in the doorway.
"At the dumpsters, wear my clothes will be."
"Right. Good luck Ro-bert." Star replied before waking towards the bridge again.
She walked carefully and quietly, shaking and twitching every once and a while to pull off the perfect 'Freak'. She had noted that many of the criminals who found themselves apart of the Circus, were truly insane and often mused to themselves as they walked.
All at once she heard the crunch of pebbles and stomps of heavy feet behind her. Star exited nicely around a corner onto the next roadway, rarely a car would drive on these streets so she had no fear of that. Gangs of rowdy 'Freaks' however, did frighten her.
At a distance and closing in, she began to hear catcalls and whispers. Booming voices of the seemingly small group filled Star's head and echoed on the empty street.
"Whatchu got there, lady?" One shouted as Star began walking faster.
"OI! I asked you a question!" He shouted again, quickening his own pace.
A shrill voice from within the grouped spoke up, "Hey Mammoth we got work to do let her be."
"Shut it brainiac! I'll do what I want!" He stomped up and whipped Star around to face him. " I said what do you have there?"
"None uh yo business!" Star spat, conjuring a southern accent and shaking from his grip.
"You dare-" Mammoth started before getting a smack to the back of the head from a girl with pink hair.
"Move on loverboy, she's not interested. Gizmo said it, we've got work to do so let's go." She said.
Mammoth grunted, his huge form moving with his frustration, "After this bitch apologizes."
"For what?" Gizmo hissed, "Ugh stop wasting our time."
Gizmo came into view, he was much shorted then everyone else, with green hair and strange gear strung all over his small body. He pushed the one named Mammoth aside.
"You runt." Mammoth growled, "Give me the bag!" He shouted to Star.
"Why should I! It's my bag, get yer own!" She growled back, not sure of what the fascination was.
"'Cause I want it. And Joker told me to take anything I wanted. I'm being nice. Now gimme the bag!" Mammoth shook his head.
"Back off!" Star called as he reached for the bag she was now clutching closely, there was no way she would lose the items in this bag.
"How pathetic can you get." Jinx sighed moving around him.
Mammoth stopped growl at Star, "What did you just say!"
All at once Star's head whipped back and slammed onto the pavement, filling the street with a sickening crack.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Jinx screeched, throwing Mammoth against a wall.
He grunted and pushed her off, "She called me pathetic!"
Her eyes began to glow purple, "No you dumb shit I CALLED YOU PATHETIC."
Robin, who was just about to turn onto the street paused and leaned against the corner, peaking over at the situation to assess if they would be clearing out soon.
A blond boy who had been muttering since the stopped, chirped up, "You fucking idiot! She was a beauty and you bashed her face in!"
Robin looked to where the blond boy was pointing, his eyes going wide. Starfire's wig covered her face, but the dress was very recognizable.
"Like you could tell Billy!" Someone bellowed from the group.
"What if that was Harely!" Gizmo shouted.
Someone else in the crowd defended Mammoth, "That bitch is with Joker she's fine!"
"You're too dumb to know that goo brain!" Gizmo retorted.
Mammoth turned to Gizmo, "That's it!"
Suddenly a fight broke out, it seemed those two had a bad history but that worked just fine for Robin. As more onlookers popped out of nowhere to join the fight, random lame punches and kicks gave Robin the opportunity to slip in.
He kneeled over Starfire protectively, but to an outsider's eye they would seem like fallen brawlers. He tilted to hear her breathing. "Star" he whispered when he felt her breath.
"I am fine do not be concerned." She whispered through her swelling jaw.
"Roll that way." he nodded lightly to the left of their position.
She pivoted gingerly, blood soaking her real hair under the wig. They crawled down unnoticed and rolled over the buildings side. Robin held Starfire the bag as she tried to stand.
As the pair began to wobble away, gunshots could be heard in the background, along with other strange noises.
"What's going on?" Star whispered, unwilling to turn and check.
A flash of purple lit the sky and Robin turned around to check the scene. "Uh I think those are the reinforcements."
"Which reinforcements?" The brawlers were all scattering and in the rubble, bright white clown masks hid the armed gang memebers.
"The ones looking for me." He whispered as he saw Mammoth clobbered to the ground. "RUN!"
Star turned in confusion to see what was going on. As she turned the couple was noticed by scouting clown faces.
"SARAH GO!" Robin called pulling her arm.
They broke out into a chaotic sprint towards the islands shore. A couple of the clown masks were now running after them and a few of the brawlers who were attempting their own escape. Shots rang out along every street. From afar Starfire could here a yelp and a scream indicating a successful bullet. Just as the coast could finally be seen, a determined bullet found its target.
A choked scream leaked from Robin's throat as the bullet pushed into the back of his leg. He stumbled, but refused to stop running.
Fewer shots were heard, one of the other brawlers had fallen from his wounds but one more still ran to the edge. They passed the last building before the edge of the island, his leg was bleeding hard now and he could feel the drain starting to affect him.
"Robert!" Star coughed grabbing his arm and pulling it over her shoulder. " We are almost there!"
The clowns began to slow, until the came to a full stop at the building. The other brawler finally came into full few before diving into the water. Star recognized the pink haired girl as she disappeared out of sight.
Star looked to Robin and he nodded.
I'm sorry I'm taking so long x(
I will try hard to post another before I head for Scotland!
~Jack2495
Next time: Race to Gotham! Robin's been shot! Has Raven's spying gone too far?
